Emerald Lightning
by Shin Maxwell
Summary: This is the longer story mentioned in my L4D2 drabble series..I finally got it started! What happens with a 5th survivor? Anything goes..good and bad! Hoping to have this go on for quite awhile..and the reason for the title will be revealed eventually! NickxOC eventually. R & R, but no flames please! Done alone so pardon any errors I missed! Rated T for now, will be M eventually!


**authors note: been itching to write this...since I've recently got back into playing the second game. The non-official character (as in my own) is who I go by in game usually. She has her problems, trust me, and is nowhere near perfect. I do not own any of the official game stuff or characters, just my OC and my story idea. Enjoy!**

** Emerald Lightning Chapter 1 – Dead Center**

A young lady sat on top of an air conditioning machine, just out of view of the rest of the roof down below. She watched as the large helicopter lifted off the roof of the building she was on. Just after it did 4 people came through the doors under the machine she was on. 3 of the four were men, the fourth a young lady, probably about her own age. One of the men, a man in an expensive looking suit, put his hands on his knees and bent over, attempting to catch his breath. The youngest of the four turned, wondering were everyone was out loud, before they all noticed the helicopters flying into the distance out of the stricken city. The woman began to repeat "this can't be happening" over and over, while the oldest of them, a slightly portly black man, said something about "I thought they were supposed to be saving our asses!"

The man in the white suit straightened finally, and responded to the older mans comment. "Looks like there's been a change of plans.." she heard him say. She sat up straighter, and noticed the youngest of the four straying too close to her broadsword, that she'd propped up against the nearest wall. She slid off the AC unit, and reached down, pulling the sword out of reach just as the young man reached for it. His startled call made the other three with him turn around to see what was going on.

She stood up, after slipping the sword and it's holster back onto the specialized harness on her back, before lightly jumping down to the actual rooftop. She had a lean build, and her hair was back into a ragged ponytail, due to the hair tie slowly become useless. Her green clothing and such was dirty, but not beyond cleaning as of yet. She rolled her shoulder, and said something before anyone else could.

"I'm sorry you missed the helicopter that was here..." she said quietly, barely managing to keep all the fear and anger over the virus out of her voice. She saw the man in the suit narrow his eyes, and she felt he might be the suspicious type. "You might want to leave the hotel...even though I can tell you just got here..." She inhaled, taking in the smell of fire and smoke from below. "This building is slowly burning...if you don't leave you'll get caught in it..." She reached down to pick up her supplies she left while sitting on the AC unit. It was just a magnum handgun and a first aid kit. She attached both to her harness, which she had made herself. She turned, looking over a shoulder. Her normally sapphire blue eyes were dulled to more of a watery blue, the pain, emotional or not, quite clear.

"Just take the stairs back down...might have to take alternate routes..not sure how much of this place is now burning...sorry" She moved a hand in a rather sad attempt at a wave, before taking a step. She halted as the oldest one of them gently took her by the arm, stopping her leaving before she could.

"You shouldn't go through by yourself young'n" she heard him say. "It's better to stick with people if you find 'em.." he let go of her, and picked up an extra handgun and a first aid kit they laid nearby. The others with him had already done the same, with the man in the suit grabbing an axe too.

The young woman sighed, and with a weary nod, silently agreed with the mans statement. As much as she wished she could just...stop existing, as she was the only one of her entire family left alive, he had a point. She'd stick with this small group, for now at least. The man who had stopped her from leaving just before now lifted a hand and waved at the rest of them to follow him. He carefully made his way back down the stairs to the door a floor below. The young lady quickly took a glimpse at the other four. One was the oldest of them, wearing a high school shirt and whistle, which made her think he may have had something to do with sports. The next going down was a young black lady, about her age, wearing a pink Depache Mode shirt. Next was the youngest man, wearing overalls, a t-shirt and a baseball cap on his head. He'd spoken with a southern accent, so she got the feeling he was either from this city, or somewhere close by. And lastly was the man in the white suit, who she was following down the stairs. He was roughly her age as well, and his medium brown hair was either styled back or gelled back slightly.

The leader of the line held up a hand, and the rest of them stopped. He gently opened the metal door, and peered into the hallway. There were very few of what they all knew to be "zombies" or infected as they were called, but still enough to cause a problem if they weren't careful. The man in the high school shirt quickly dispatched the visible infected with some excellent shots from his pistols. He gave the all clear, and soon they were walking 2 by 2, with the oldest of them now at the back, covering them from there. They got lucky, right until they had to walk out on the ledges due to the rooms nearest them being on fire, the flames and smoke billowing from inside each.

The young lady in green heard the most insane sounding laughter she'd ever heard, and it was quickly getting louder. As they managed to find a room still intact and not on fire, the cause of the laughter rushed past, as it mistimed what appeared to be an attempt at jumping on one of them. She quickly shot it off the ledge with a shot of her magnum, not giving it a chance to recover and try whatever it was trying again. She'd never seen that particular infected before.

"What the hell was THAT thing?" she sputtered, lowering her hand gun. The man in the suit scoffed, and said, with a dark tone "That was a damn Jockey. I hate those lunatic bastards" As if realizing he was answering somebody, he turned away and kept walking. She quickly followed him, not wanting to lose sight of any of them. She made a note to keep an eye open for the Jockeys now, if there were more of them, which judging by what the man in the suit said, there was.

They eventually managed to find a working elevator, and going against all rules of a fire, they ran in and quickly hit the first floor button. She heard the man in the suit making a comment about not taking elevators in a fire under his breath, and she silently agreed. She heard the young man in the cap say something about a "god damned zombie apocalypse or some shit" and heard the oldest of them try to calm him down.

"Calm down..you'll be okay. You can call me Coach. Now what's your name?" The young man relaxed just slightly.

"Ellis...my name's Ellis.." The young black lady said her name was Rochelle.

"The name's Nick...but don't bother learning it...I won't be around long" the man in the suit said. She heard Coach say something about sticking together for a little while longer, before it was her turn to say her name. She looked up just briefly enough to do so.

"Crystal...call me Crys..." She said quietly. Before any more could be said, the elevator came to a slightly grinding halt, but the door would have to be forced open. Crystal could tell that might not be good. She wasn't the only one.

"We're probably going to have company when I open these...be ready" she heard Coach said. He and Ellis each took a door and slowly pried them open, the doors screeching just enough to get attention. She heard the sounds of infected rushing their direction from further down the hall, as she exited the elevator behind the others. Quickly reloading her magnum, she joined in shooting the infected down as they charged at them. She thought she heard Ellis yell "Yee-haaa!" but she couldn't really tell. They slowly pushed their way forward, taking a shortcut through a kitchen that was almost completely engulfed in flames. Then making their way through a burning lobby, the passed through an archway and spotted the heavy red metal door that signaled a safe room or safe house was waiting for them.

They ran the last few feet, and slammed the heavy door behind them, quickly barring it up so it would be impossible for infected to get through it. She looked through the grate on the second heavy door, and noted the outside 'world' as it was on the other side. They couldn't stay in this safe room for too long, not with the fire raging above their head and all around. So in the brief time they were inside, they dug through the miniscule supplies, finding weapons that were not melee or hand guns. Crystal also found a particularly disgusting item, which ended up being a jar of Boomer Bile. Ellis mentioned it was good for distracting infected for a short time, and for some reason they were attracted to the smell or something. She made a face, making the youngest man laugh, but she took it, finding a spot for it on her self made harness, along with a shot gun. Her favorite gun, that she could use rather well, was actually a military grade sniper rifle, but she hadn't found a working one, yet, not since her home was taken over by the green flu and destroyed.

They decided to take a brief hour long break, and Coach kept time, as he was the only one with a working watch on hand. He was also the one to keep a look out by the rooms exit door, not because he had to, but because he wanted to, insisting the others needed the "rest" more. Crystal didn't believe that part, but let it slide, this time. She sat on the floor propped against a wall, without taking her harness off, and spotted Ellis and Rochelle looking at a tiny, tattered map on a nearby wall. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted Nick watching her, trying to be subtle and failing. He had a suspicious look to his expression, but she kept quiet. She eventually gave him a look that told him without words that she'd seen him watching her, and he turned away with a scoff. One lip turned up in a mock sort of smile on her face when he did, and she stood when she eventually heard Coach tell them it was time to keep moving.

The area just outside had a decent amount of infected standing around, and with one shot to a propane tank she noticed, Crystal took care of a hefty portion of them. The rest charged, and were felled with shots easily. She saw signs that CEDA had been there at one point, by the tents, trucks, and port-a-potties everywhere. Plus there was a generous amount of infected agents, in their special suits, which ended up being useless against the green flu. Now and then one would drop a jar of the boomer bile, but Crystal decided one was enough. The jar barely covered the stink of the disgusting fluid inside as it was..more than one would be asking for trouble. Now Ellis was in the front of the group, a surprising slight bounce to his step as he walked. She inwardly admitted she admired the young mans outgoing spirit, even with the mess around them. Coach and Rochelle were behind him, chatting softly, although Coach kept an eye on Ellis, just in case. That left her in the back with Nick. Neither of them said anything until the ground began to vibrate, as something large and heavy came towards them all. 

Crystal lifted her head quickly as she heard Ellis' shout, warning them of what was coming. "TANK!" She lifted the shot gun she had and began firing as soon as the massive infected came into view, throwing cars out of it's way, and stopping now and then to throw pieces of the road, large ones, at them. Ellis barely managed to avoid one such chunk, as the massive infected charged past him, it's focus seemingly on Crystal. She fired the last shot she had loaded in the shot gun with one hand, reaching over her shoulder with the other. Just as the tank was within range to hit her, it finally collapsed, dead, to the pavement. Crystal lowered her hand away from her sword and stared at the massive monster. She'd forgotten just how stubborn a tank was, and how hard the damned things were to kill. She looked at the sky briefly, what she could see of it, before following the others again.

There was a door in the 'wall' next to them, which by it's placement, made Crystal think it was a shortcut to something on the other side. There was another propane tank, an ax, and infected inside. The infected, all of 5 of them, were dealt with quickly. Nick picked up the ax in both hands as they passed it, saying "A freaking axe!" with a little too much glee. Crystal tilted her head up to hide the roll of her eyes, as they went down a small flight of stairs. Below there was another door, a few small stairs, and some cardboard boxes, empty of course.

Crystal opened the door very carefully, and luckily it didn't make any noise. She briefly heard the scrape of metal on stone as someone went back and picked up the propane tank they'd passed a few seconds earlier. She turned to see Ellis holding the tank, and when he saw her looking at him, he said he had a feeling they would need the thing soon. She pushed the next door open careful, relieved it didn't make any noise that would alert the infected, and snuck out, looking around the front bumper of a broken down pick up that was sitting right outside. She whistled, softly, to Ellis, who was right behind her. She motioned to him to set the propane tank down and to roll it down the road, towards a rather hefty amount of infected wandering the damaged road. He nodded, knelt down, and did as she asked. Just as it got to them, the infected stirring to the sound of it, she aimed with her shotgun and with a single shot made the canister explode, taking out almost all of the mini horde as she decided to call it. Ellis and the other picked off the straggler's with their hand guns. Once it seemed to be clear they walked down the road and under an overpass, where she saw the next road over on the other side of a safety bar. Judging by the blockades ahead, they needed to go that way. But when she tried to point this out, Nick cut Ellis off before he could agree.

"Hmph...who died and made you leader?" the con-man about growled, and Crystal froze, while Ellis just looked at him in shock. Crystal clenched her fists so tight around her shotgun that her knuckles went white, and she barely restrained her inner need to shoot Nick in the ass.

"Oh I don't know.." she hissed back, blue eyes narrowing, the sapphire color darkening. "Only..EVERYONE" she emphasized the last word, before exhaling sharply and turning her back on the con-man, and then jumping the metal barrier next to her to cross to the other road. The action of turning her back on him made Nick grit his teeth, and he jumped the barrier after her, storming up behind her. The others looked at each other.

"It's not obvious or nothin'...but I'm getting' the oddest feelin' those two met before..." Ellis scratched his head. Coach didn't say anything, but looked thoughtful. Rochelle only shook her head, not sure what to say, before jumping the barrier to try and catch up, the two men following behind. Up ahead Nick caught up and grabbed Crystal's arm not far below her shoulder and yanked the slightly younger woman to a halt.

"Don't turn your back on me. I wasn't done with you yet!" he growled. Crystal took her other hand and forcefully shoved it into his chest, making him let go of her arm with a loud exhaling noise. She glared at him.

"Well I was done with you. I'd advise you not to grab me like that again either or I'll.." she stopped when she heard an all too familiar female crying sound. She looked at the sky and wondered where her luck went.

"Fuck...a witch. Stay here, or don't, I don't give a shit" she hissed, climbing up the side of a nearby dumpster carefully to see if she could see the witch yet. Seeing nothing at first, she got on top and knelt, sneaking her way alone to look around on the other side. And of course it was a wandering witch, which she personally hated. She moved into a laying down, on her stomach, position. Pumping the shotgun once, she waited until the witch was in the perfect spot, then inhaled, pulling the trigger. The witches head exploded like a over-ripe tomato being thrown into a wall, sending blood and brain matter in almost every direction. Crystal made a face, and got up. Behind her, she heard Ellis let out a low, impressed sounding whistle. Nick grunted, climbing up and pushing his way past her to jump down on the other side of the dumpster. She followed, more than half tempted to shoot Nick in the ass, again, with the other three close behind her. "Jackass" she mumbled.

They reached a point where they had to jump down onto a truck, then onto the street. They did this in the same order as climbing over the dumpster before. Then there was the tell tale rumble under their feet of an incoming tank. Crystal cursed, and reached for her swords handle. She had an idea, but with the others watching she was hesitant to try it.

"Fuck it!" she growled, pulling the sword out for the first time since the group had met. It was a longsword, with a well cared for, shining silver blade. Ellis' blinked at the sight, but before anyone could say anything, Crystal took off running, in the direction of the tank. She saw it finally as she ran past a broken down car, roaring it's rage and storming their way. There was a wall next to her, like she hoped, and she made use of it. Judging the distance right when the time came, she surprised everyone but jumping and running along the wall for a few steps. And then she jumped again, spinning in a circle, sword out, as she went over the tank, just managing to avoid it's big meaty arms. She landed on the other side and rolled to her feet, spinning to look at the tank. It moved a few more paces, before it's head fell to the road, it's body following seconds later. This move would not always work, but it had been worth a try.

She wiped the tank's blood off her sword and put it back in it's sheath, before walking back to the others as if nothing had just happened. She held a hand up to stall Ellis as he opened his mouth to say something.

"Not now. I'll tell you about it some other time. Right now we have an evacuation point we need to get to before it's too late" The young man nodded, seeming to understand. She wiped the excess blood, or as much of it as she could, off her sword, before putting it back into it's sheath on her back. She'd clean the rest of it up later, and maybe even sharpen it a bit, not that it needed it if it could still cut through a tanks tough skin. She started moving again, not noticing Nick's calculating gaze following her, before he too moved, following behind Ellis, with Coach and Rochelle close behind. After another couple of rooms, they came to a walkway with a road on one side of a rail, and a bus under another rail, this one broken, on the other side.

"Jump onto that bus thing and then down to the road. That's the easiest way down that I can see" Crystal suggested. She saw Nick's eyes narrow, but thankfully he didn't say anything, this time. Ellis gleefully went first, followed by a more cautious Coach and Rochelle. That left Crystal and Nick to get next, which Crystal took advantage of. She went quickly before Nick could do anything. Nick followed, but not without an angry exhale of breath and a grinding of his teeth slightly. Crystal couldn't see him or hear him do this, but she knew what she just did would make someone like Nick angry, and there was a slight smirk on her face as she jumped from the "bus" to the road below. A few infected were in the way as they made their way up a ramp that led to another set of stairs, but luckily no special infected were waiting to pounce yet.

"The gun store should be just up ahead" announced Ellis, a gentle shushing coming from Coach, as he was little loud. Ellis gave a sheepish grin and a nod, then went down some more stairs, to the left of which was the gun store he was talking about. The door nearby that led inside was unlocked, and Crystal couldn't help but whistle when she saw what was inside. Ellis went for the wall of guns behind the counter, while Coach and Rochelle broke the glass there to get at some extra pistols. Crystal grabbed an AK-47, plenty of ammo for it, and a laser sight off a nearby crate. She nearly snorted when she heard what Nick had to say as he entered, before grabbing his own weapons.\

"Candy store for adults! Oh..and I'm not legally allowed to own a gun" That didn't stop him from grabbing another hand gun and an assault rifle. He shoved Crystal side slightly to grab a laser sight. She frowned and then scowled a little.

"Rude much?" she grumbled. "asshole.." She noticed an intercom of sorts on the wall and hit the big button near the top. She jumped back slightly as an older mans voice came through.

"Hello there! I've barricaded myself on the roof with ample provisions, but in my haste I forgot Cola. So here is my proposition: if you go find me some cola at yonder food store, I'll clear a path to the mall for you" Then the door next to the intercom swung open, revealing a small set of stairs, leading outside, and just over a set of hedges was the food store the man, who Crystal assumed was Whitaker, mentioned. She had a bad feeling the door was alarmed like almost every other store was as of late, and as she jumped down, followed by the others, she stated this fact out loud.

"No, really?" was Nick's sarcastic response. Crystal just grit her teeth together and got herself ready.

"I don't care what SOME people might think of the following" she eyed Nick as she said this, "But I'm the fastest runner here. I'll get the Cola and run it back to Whitaker. I just need someone, or all of you, to cover me while I do. I think this noise is going to get us some unwanted attention" Before anyone, mainly a certain someone, could say otherwise, especially after she caught Coach's slight nod, Crystal kicked the double doors open, setting off the alarm. She dashed in, quickly looking for the cola, which she found, of course, at the back of the store. Grabbing an adrenaline shot she spotted on the counter nearby, she grabbed the 6 pack of soda bottles, and holding them tight against her side, she charged back around a corner, and saw the other four bravely holding off a massive horde of infected that had come, attracted to the shrill alarm sounds.

To her immense surprise, Nick was the one to wave her out, silently, covering her from behind as she made her way back towards the door Whitaker was believed to be behind. Behind him, the other three covered them both, firing their weapons while running. Skidding around a corner, she made her was towards the door, but from down below came a noise, as she found herself sliding, again.

But this time it was towards the railing, and as she found herself being pulled over the side she threw the cola up and into Nick, who fumbled, barely catching it. The smoker who had snagged her with it's tongue yanked her down onto the top of a truck, which knocked the breath out of her briefly, then further into it's chest. Nick shoved the cola into Ellis and practically tossed the poor southerner at the door, telling him to give the damn drinks to Whitaker, before turning and firing his assault rifle with deadly accuracy at the smoker, just before it was going to claw at Crystal, who was now laying half on, half off the hood of the truck she'd been tanked onto. Nick jumped the rail, landing on the bed of the same truck, just as Crystal stirred, rubbing her head, before sliding the rest of the way off the truck, letting out a quiet "oof" noise as she hit the asphalt below.

She kept rubbing her head as she sat up again, barely noticing Nick jump off the truck at first. She stood and turned when she finally noticed him, and began to open her mouth to speak. He didn't give her the chance. He lifted a hand to halt her.

"Don't. I don't know why I just did that, but don't read into it. I want to get out of here, out of this hellhole, and clearly I can't do it alone. But don't think we're friends or anything, because we're not, nor will we be" he then walked away, towards the opening Whitaker made when he hit a nearby gas truck with a rocket, clearing a large way through. Crystal's mouth opened a little from the shock of his seemingly cruel words, but then it snapped shut and she growled, storming after him. She didn't noticed the others following behind, a distance away, but so far as to have herself and Nick out of line of sight for long.

"Did y'all notice...for all his bad attitude and pessimistic personality, Nick was the one to react the fastest when the lady got pulled over the rail by the smoker? I STILL think those two know each other from somewhere!' whispered Ellis to Coach and Rochelle, with a brief wave of a hand, and a shot of his gun as a lone infected tried to interrupt in the only way it knew how, by running at him. Up ahead Nick and an irritated Crystal had entered the safe room that led into the mall on the other side of a second red door, and Nick, slightly irritated with himself for a reason only he seemed to know, was waving at them to hurry up and join them inside.

They did, and the entrance door to the safe room swung shut, and the metal bar to help keep it that way was quickly added by Ellis,who had gone in last. Crystal went to the nearest wall, and slid down, holding her side as sat on the floor. Nothing felt broken or bruised other than her skin, and that would smart for awhile. She eyed Nick, who thankfully was turned away so he wouldn't notice. Despite his cold words, she knew that deep down he did give a damn. He'd just been through so much she figured, that it was buried VERY VERY far down inside of himself. His actions just then, a few minutes earlier, proved it. Of course he'd never admit it. She just looked at the ceiling with a slight smile and shook her head slightly.

She stretched, so her muscles wouldn't get too tight, before shifting to sit cross legged. She watched the other members of their little group briefly, as they took a quick break. Coach and Rochelle were talking quietly, while Ellis reloaded his weapons. Nick was looking out the safe room door that led into the mall, using a hand gun to shoot any infected who charged the door. Luckily that didn't happen a lot, and the noise didn't bring more as a result. Eventually he traded place with Ellis, and sat across from Crystal, looking at her with a calculating look she wasn't sure she liked. His handgun was resting on one of his legs, still loosely clenched in one hand. She couldn't fault him for that, it was safest to keep a weapon in hand just in case.

"Why are you looking at me that way?" she nearly growled, after what seemed like a long time of him looking at her.

"Trying to compare you with the woman I saw in a bar a few years ago. A sarcastic smart ass who called me on something. Not that I really care about it" grumbled Nick, leaning back against the wall behind him. Crystal narrowed her eyes.

"I'm not that same person. I never will be" she nearly growled, blue eyes narrowed, and full of cold anger.

"I can tell" Nick's lip turned up in a sort of scowl. "At least she wasn't a bitch" As Crystal's hands gripped her rifle tight, Ellis turned his head to look at the two, mostly Nick, in shock. So he was right, the two had met before. Before he could try to stop the fight, which would likely get his own ass handed to him for interfering, Crystal let go of the rifle and dove forward. Luckily Coach got a hold of her before she could wrap her hands around Nick's neck like she wanted to for his comment. She fought his hold, naturally.

"Let me at him! God damn dickhead! I want to throttle him!" the younger woman growled, attempting to kick Nick as Coach dragged her away.

"Calm down young'un. This ain't the time for that! And you" he turned his head to Nick, still holding onto Crystal, "we need to work together to evacuate, your attitude is not helping and.." Nick cut him off.

"Save it old man" said Nick, holding a hand up to stop the older man from talking more. "I don't care" Nick stood, picking up his weapons and gear. Rochelle and Ellis did the same, albeit silently, not wanting to get dragged into things if they could help it. When he was sure Crystal wouldn't try to attack Nick again, Coach let go, allowing her to pick her stuff up too. She hissed as Nick passed her, leaving the safe room first, every inch of his body tense and radiating anger much liker her own. Ellis was quiet for once, watching the two carefully. He liked the slightly older lady already, and considered her a friend, but he wasn't dumb enough to bother her now. No one was, not even him. Except Nick perhaps. Picking off some stragglers of the infected variety, the group of five made their way up an escalator, then under a broken security curtain, and then down another escalator. There was a witch at the bottom, but Coach and Crystal made quick work of her before being spotted with a pair of head shots.

After another hallway, littered with damaged and broken chairs, stands, and tables, was another escalator, which they went up. At the top Crystal tilted her head, and she could have sworn she heard a low, deep growl. She was in the lead now, and paused near a broken blue door into an employee only hallway. Her eyes widened as she felt a slight vibration. Rochelle, Ellis, and Coach had already passed a blocked off store doorway, but Nick was lagging behind. Just as he reached the same spot, the vibration increased into a rumble, that everyone could feel now.

"LOOK OUT!" Crystal yelled. Nick looked up, just as she reached him, grabbing his blue shirt and managing to pull him forward. She shoved him towards the others, just as the tank exploded through the metal and glass of the store entrance. It's big meaty and very muscular hand slammed into Crystal's chest. She went one way, her rifle the other, sliding towards the rest of the group. Crystal herself hit a stone and tile support pillar, before slumping to the ground, completely unconscious. Nick's icy eyes were wide with the shock of what just happened, but that didn't last.

He and the others fired their weapons, often while attempting to run backwards, keeping their eyes on the massive infected. The group split, two going one way, Ellis going back towards the broken blue doors, and Nick making his way towards Crystal. One small relief came as the tank focused on Ellis, luckily one of the fastest of the survivors, next to Crystal. The tank roared with fury as bullet after bullet hit it. Nick slid into place next to Crystal's unmoving body, firing his gun a few more times before stopping to check her. She was on her side, a slight trickle of blood coming from one corner of her mouth. Nick carefully checked her head, inwardly breathing a sigh of relief when he found it wasn't hurt at all. By the looks her head didn't hit the pillar at all, and her being out was thanks to all the breath being knocked out of her, hard. He was concerned about the blood from her mouth, until he realized it was from when she slumped over. She had bitten her lip before passing out, and that's where it was coming from. Slinging one of her arms over his shoulders, he stood, taking her with him, just as a loud thump and a eerie groan signaled that the tank was finally dead or at least on it's way to dying.

To make sure it was dead, the others shot it a few more times. When it didn't make anymore noise or move at all, they knew, finally, that it was really down. Nick felt a slight vibration on his shoulders as Crystal stirred, her eyes opening halfway, to look around in a daze, still recovering from hitting the support pillar like she did. Coughing, then spitting out a little blood, she looked up finally, opening her eyes further. She didn't say anything about the fact that Nick was keeping her upright, but she did take a look around and ask "what happened...?" But there was no need for an answer as she finally noticed the tank's dead form in a heap nearby.

"Oh...that's right..." shaking her head slightly, she straightened up a little. Nick decided she could stay standing on her own now, and let go, moving her arm from around his shoulders, before bending down to pick up his main weapon. Crystal looked at him from out of the corner of one eye, her gaze softening, barely.

"Thank you, Nick" she said, bending over to pick up her own weapons, which had fallen as the tank backhanded her away from itself. Nick didn't respond, but she didn't really expect him to. He wasn't the sort. Wincing, she followed the others over a one way broken down door, picking off an infected here and there. They eventually ended up inside what used to be a toy shop, judging by the scattered stuffed elephants and crocodiles everywhere. When no one was watching, Crystal couldn't help but take one of the crocodiles and stuff it into the strap holding her sword to her back. It didn't budge, as it was a tight fit.

"The window is bound to be protected..so I have a feeling an alarm will go off as soon as we break it, meaning we'll need to find a switch to turn it off" she heard Coach telling Ellis and Rochelle. They checked first that their weapons were fully loaded, and with a nod, Ellis swung the bat he'd picked up from somewhere, and completely shattered one part of the store front window. As soon as he did a shrill, painful to the ears alarm sounded. Over that, the screams and calls of the infected were heard, as the rushed in a frenzy towards the source of the noise. It seemed like chaos had descended, as the group shot, shoved, and beat their way through a suddenly immense amount of infected. Crystal's sword was quickly turned almost completely red with zombie blood. Along the way a smoker and a hunter tried to get a shot at one of them, but failed easily.

After going up an escalator, Crystal finally noticed the source of the alarm, when they neared the end of a blocked off hallway. There was a machine with a pull down lever, where the sound was coming from. Pushing her way through a smaller horde, she quickly pulled the lever down, and the god awful noise finally stopped.

"Thanks for turning off that alarm!" She couldn't tell if Nick was being serious or sarcastic with that particular thank you. She slid the door they'd come through shut and shoved the nearby collapsible desk up against it, all the while knowing it wouldn't hold if it was beat on enough. But it might give them an edge and let them hear if anything was coming from behind them. She wincing as a leftover twinge of pain went through one shoulder, Crystal followed the others as they made their way down a small stairwell, into what looked like a storage room in progress. On the other side was where the evacuation center was said to be. Only when they got there, all there was were a few tattered tents, damaged tables, and dead bodies, both infected and non-infected. There was nothing there now. And that didn't set well with anybody.

"CEDA...Leaving me twice in one day. Lesson learned!" Nick's response was growl out, showing he was quite clearly unimpressed with the situation. Of course when was he ever.

"Maybe the evac center's a little deeper into the mall?" Ellis had everyone looking at him with that one.

"What the hell is CEDA doing?" Coach barely managed not to yell his words, but he did clench the gun in his hand a bit tighter. Rochelle didn't say anything, only shaking her head with disappointment, as Crystal's eyes narrowed at the sight. With a sigh from next to her, Coach moved, heading for a nearby escalator. He'd noticed the hastily painted arrow and house that directed anyone who saw it towards a safe room. Amazingly, everyone else followed without much noise. Some of the silence was due to hidden, seething anger, in the case of Nick and even Crystal. For Rochelle and Ellis, it was due to the shock and sadness at not being helped for the second time in one day. And it wasn't even noon, so Crystal's advanced looking watching said when she looked at it.

Once they get into the next safe room, and had the door barred shut and reinforced, 3 of the five sat down, backs against one wall or another. Nick and Crystal remained standing. Nick went to the exit out of the safe room and leaned on it, clenched fist against his forehead as he ranted under his breath, so no one else could hear. He could just make out a thud on the other side of a nearby wall, but didn't pay it a lot of attention. The noise was Crystal kicked the wall a few times out of anger. After a short while, Ellis looked up from the spot on the floor he was looking at, and spotted a face very familiar to him on a poster near where Nick was.

"Jimmy Gibbs JR!" he exclaimed getting to his feet and walking over to get a better look. He and Coach got into it about the guy, while Nick couldn't help himself and he made some smart ass comments that got dirty looks from the other two men. Crystal came out from where she was and picked up her stuff just as Coach said they should get moving. Quickly shooting down the infected, they made their way down the only path they could, and into the only way down, an elevator. Both Crystal and Ellis looked out the window, and saw a few infected wandering around. And then, to the other side, a blue stock car. Ellis recognized it, and immediately rattled off a plan when Nick asked if anyone had any ideas. The two briefly argued about who would drive it, which Ellis seemed to win in the end. Crystal herself though it looked a little small to be able to carry 5 of them, but she wasn't going to turn down a chance at getting out the mall. When she looked out of the glass as the elevator went down some more, she noted a sudden increase in infected wandering around. Ellis said what she was thinking before she could even open her mouth to say it herself.

"Holy shit" Each of them lifted one of the weapons they had on them, Nick and Rochelle holding melee weapons, an axe and chainsaw respectively.

The doors slid open, and the numerous infected already there rushed at them, only to be met with a hail of bullets and flurry of swings from sharp bladed weapons.

"Let's get that gas!' directed Coach. Crystal hefted the nearest gas canister, right outside of the elevator, into her arms, and ran for the stock car, Ellis close behind, on Coach's orders. The other three went up the nearest stairs to the second floor, and began throwing canisters down to the bottom, one bouncing off the abandoned information stand down there. Ellis and Crystal took turns putting gas into the car while the other stood watch, killing whatever common infected rushed their way hoping for a bite of them. At one point Crystal had to drop the canister before she started filling it, to shove a hunter off Ellis before it could do much damage, shooting it in the head a few times to make sure it was dead. After a count of about 6 canisters, Crystal heard and felt the incoming tank, and cursed, yelling over the sound of gunfire and infected noise to get the attention of the other three, now up on the top most floor. What was worse is she wasn't sure where the big ass zombie was coming from. She got her answer soon enough when she heard yelling, and saw Nick and Coach up above shooting at something, while trying to run backwards. She got Ellis' attention quickly.

"Go up there! They need help in this enclosed space!"she yelled, pointing up at the others. Ellis saw what she was pointing at, but shook his head.

"Coach told me to watch..." he started to say, but Crystal practically shoved him towards a stairwell that she saw went all the way to the third floor.

"Just go! I'll be fine!" Ellis gave her another look, but finally did as she asked, running for the staircase and hurrying towards the top. A screech had her turning, and ducking, just in time to avoid a hunter's lunge. When it landed it spun, screeching again, and this time Crystal lifted her sword up, keeping the thing from getting it's claws into her. It's clawed hands hit the metal with a clang, and she was forced backwards onto the ground. She struggled for a bit, but managed to shove it off again. This time she quickly swung the sword through the hunter's neck, sending it's head and nasty blood flying. She heard a low whistle, and saw Ellis up on the third floor, watching. She looked at him, and he nodded, showing he got there in time to help kill the tank. A couple of canisters flew past his head, and down to the first floor. Crystal caught one, and the other bounced slightly, to land against the cars back wheel.

"Hurry up and help us Ellis!" She could barely make out Nick yelling, as a third canister came down, while she emptied the first into the stock car. By the time she was done with the second canister, 4 more had been thrown down, and the others were quickly rushing down the stairs to help. She heard the screams and cries of infected as Ellis took her place to empty the next canister. She turned and began firing her magnum as the first of the infected made it's appearance. Her eyes widened at the tell-tale signs of another tank incoming, and she yelled over her shoulder.

"Hurry up with that gas...we got a problem headed our way!" she barely heard Ellis' response as she turned back around.

"Going as fast as I can!" There were just two canisters left, besides the one Ellis was currently emptying into the stock car.

"Well go faster!" she lifted her sniper rifle now, just as the massive zombie barely came into view. Nick pushed his way past, an arm lifted into the air.

"Molotov incoming!" He must have found it when they were upstairs, as he didn't have it before. It exploded onto the tank, setting the massive zombie on fire, and making it even angrier. Nick and Crystal led it in wide circles, shooting as they went. Rochelle kept busy while standing near Ellis, and Coach helped shoot at the tank. Thankfully this one went down faster thanks to being on fire like it was. Just as it died, falling to the tiles with a thump, Ellis finished emptying the last gas canister.

"Done!" He jumped in, and to his surprise the keys were still inside. He started it up, and yelled at the rest of them to get in. "Get in! Hurry!" Coach dove in, followed close behind by Rochelle. Nick and Crystal barely managed to squeeze in and get the door shut, before Ellis hit the acceleration, jerking the wheel around. The tires screeched on the tile flooring, leaving tire marks, as Ellis sped up even more if at possible, headed right for the nearby doors.

"Han on..it's going to get bumpy!" The car hit the doors and flew through, going airborne briefly. Crystal saw blood fly by the windows as the car hit infected on it's way out. The car landed with a bone-jarring thump, and Ellis turned it again, onto a surprisingly clear, but actual road. He didn't even bother steering around any infected, just hitting them on their way. They eventually passed a welcome to Savannah sign.

"We made it out of there...finally.." Crystal said. Coach and Rochelle had somehow managed to squeeze into the front with Ellis, leaving her in the cramped back part with Nick. She ended up having to sit on his legs, hers pointed towards the side of the car, her back to the other side. Nick himself had his arms crossed, and he said nothing, although he too was glad to be out of there. Crystal looked over his shoulder now, to see the city they'd left quickly shrinking behind them. And she couldn't help but wonder where they were headed through, on their way, hopefully, to New Orleans. She didn't expect it to be a quiet trip of course. At last, the city vanished from view as Ellis yelled with glee in the front. She could now only look forward, and that was what she would do...for now.

End Chapter 1!

Well...finally got this thing started! This is the story I mentioned in the drabbles I've been doing, that I finally got off my ass and got started. I'm doing this alone..so pardon any errors or mistakes! This chapter ended up 12 pages long...doesn't seem like much..but for me it is!

I'm a artist first, writer second, so it obviously will never be written perfection. But I hope you like it! R & R, but no flames please!

And lastly, the reason for the title being what it is will eventually be revealed!


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